DAY TWO Crystal Serenity Canal

As we approached Cabo San Lucas, Owen and I stood on the upper deck. No matter how many times I approach from the North, I marvel at the beautiful white sand beaches. Some now are getting settled with homes.

Even though the water on the Pacific side is dangerous, (riptides, hi surf), it looks like a wonderful place to spend time. (Later in the cruise, I met a couple who actually lived there. They moved from Alaska.)

As we came into the bay, the security patrol was very evident.

This is the first time I have seen this in Cabo. I think that there is a tremendous effort to give cruise companies a sense of security in this part of Mexico. There are some ships that will only go to Cabo. Serenity is one. We’ll skip Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco, with our next stop being in Costa Rica.

A couple of weeks ago, I promised Alejandro, a waiter at Señor Frogs, a bottle of the new Tabasco Habanero sauce. It’s not just HOT, it’s flavorful. We tested it against the regular Tabasco on chips.

I convinced Alejandro to match me and put more than just a few drops on a chip. Three or four bites and he ran for a beer.

I slurped most of my Diet Coke. My mouth burned for most of the rest of our walk into town.

We saw this yacht on our way. I wanted to go over to it and find out who’s it was and what they were doing in Cabo. Why do people with that much dinero come to Cabo? Then I thought about the many reasons someone with that kind of money might be in Mexico at all. I decided it was none of my business.

Owen and I went into Diamonds International where a few years ago I had purchased a lost wedding ring replacement. They negotiated and the final price was about 2/3s asking. As we browsed, I saw a case of Philip Stein watches. These watches are different styles, but each has an opening in the back that is supposed to emit something that makes one feel better, sleep better, be less tense. I want to try this, but really don’t come close to needing another watch. The lowest priced watch was $250. It was a nice watch and I offered $150. The manager came over and she gave me ten percent off. Now we were talking $225. I countered with $190. She said no and would not budge from $225. She then told me she had weekly headaches. She got a Philip Stein watch and the headaches went away. She then took it off and the headaches came back. This, she said, proved to her that the watch was worth every penny of $225. After all, she said, it’s only $35 we’re talking about. But wait, she was not wearing a watch of any brand. I started to get a headache. We left.

On the tender back to Serenity, we ran into Kathleen, who we had met the night before in the “leaving the theater line”.

She is in remission from stage 4 cancer. Two tumors in her throat put her in the hospital with a feeding tube for a year. With all that, she is lovely and smiling all the time. Remission being not a synonym for cure, she brought her daughter, and two grandchildren along. They were with her on the tender.

One of the women at our table is in a wheelchair and her husband has to help lift the water glass. And yet she is laughing at me and Owen, and very upbeat in conversation. I’m not sure what lesson to derive from them, but maybe it’s to understand life with loved ones is worth more than many of us may fully appreciate.

We ate at Tastes, casual dining by the Neptune pool. Good simple food and great service. The drink steward lives in Miami, but is from Brazil and we had a ball with him. Owen had a salmon dish and I had Pizza. Our guy took a photo of us, in his words showing an elite Owen, and a real man……..me.